Dear Readers,
The running thread underlying most of human endeavours and activities in today’s times is our stark alienation from Earth. A story of separation, of our disconnect is what we are all collectively living out. The question confronting us today is how do we recognise, acknowledge and then bridge this divide. How do we rediscover our undeniable connect, our being embedded in Earth? How do write a new story?
There are different conduits through which this new story can be told and re-told. Art is a potent medium through which we can fall in love with our Earth yet again, get re-enchanted! We will however, need to reimagine art, to move beyond an expression of creativity to a more expansive expression of integration and connection to a deeper ‘sense of whole’. To stir the rasika in each one of us, a rasika who can appreciate and revel in Earth’s abundance and beauty.
We bring to you a photo essay by Nitin Das, film maker and activist, who leads healing forest walks. Nitin believes that creating art in nature lets us connect to something deep within ourselves and heal us.
Art in education can be a channel through which children learn the value of conserving precious resources by recycling them. Nisha Nair, founder of ArtSparks Foundation, writes about her experience with ArtSparks and the imperative of reframing art in the context of education.
The author Andrew Brown in his book, Art and Ecology Now, focuses on how we need to create new connections with the earth around us rather than dwelling on environmental issues alone. We bring to you Martin Spray’s book review.
Ishita Bose Sarkar, art educator and facilitator at Prakriya School and Bhoomi College, shares her experience of clueing in with essentials of ecological art and how we need to enable children to move away from art for art sake!
We hope this month’s articles kindles in you the desire to make more and more connections…
Happy Reading!
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